Monday, March 10, 2014

Eastward

So, I got home from Stitches, took a nap, went to work for one day and hit the road to Minnesota.

I took a boat load of pictures on the 2.75 days we were on the road.

I tried to edit because I realize that no one wants to look at more than 7 or so of your vacation pictures. It might be different if it was a trip somewhere awesome and breathtaking. But this is I-90. There is some awesomeness, but it can be captured in one shot, not the 8 or 10 repeats I took to be sure I got said shot. And filming from a moving car can be problematic. I blame Dave’s driving. And the fact we were one wheel bearing away from disaster.

Snoqualmie Pass. Which had been closed a few days before and closed a few days after. But not our day.

Yay. Columbia Gorge. We made it. Over one pass.

Idaho-and another mountain pass.

Montana (there was a scary mountain pass here, but I was driving and there was no way Dave was going to let me take pictures and drive-he was too busy telling me to “slow up”. So irritating)

Steaming ground…

Frozen trees-

You know it’s cold when the ground is steaming.

Wyoming. Look closely---see that thumb like thing sticking up behind the rise-just yonder-That’s the Devil’s Tower. And when we got the clearest view of it? My camera malfunctioned. Jeesh. AND-we have never noticed it before, even though this is drive #3 and we have looked every time. But there it is. I’ll try harder this summer.

South Dakota.

Minnesota Welcomes You. But don’t park here.

Me, in Minnesota. So blissfully unaware that 30 miles from Rochester our car is going to break down, and that we, our 2 dogs, and 2 cats, are going to get a tow, ride in a shuttle, rent a car, get to Laura’s, go back and get our stuff out of said car at repair shop, get pizza and then drink 4 beers apiece. How could we know that?

I am wearing a boat load of layers on top, but my legs are freezing.

There’s a bit of snow at Laura’s house. She lives in the country and it’s quite beautiful.

Beautiful country picture.

There are also a few cats.

Not all ours. And none of which had seen dogs before. May I just say 9 cats running out of one room only to see their first dogs is about the funniest thing ever?

And there is some sort of sink thing happening because I keep getting sink pictures. Jack is usally supervising said sink, and there is at least on cat in the sink.

But it was this picture that made me laugh out loud. Really. Out loud.

Gawd, I am still laughing. This captures 11 years of wedded bliss in one priceless photo. It really happened.

And, of course, no blog would be complete without this-

My blog muse-In person! Isn’t she cute? And notice how I’m leaning in and she’s like-um, please stop leaning in. I have 4 pictures of this (thanks Dave) and in each one I’m leaning closer and closer. It’s a wonder she puts up with me at all. Well, she’s putting up with Dave, two cats, two dogs, her cats, cows, chickens and a whole lotta snow. So I guess I’m the least of her worries. It’s no wonder she’s leaving for Peru in April. (We can still find you there, you know…..) Oh, and did I mention she brought Daube’s carrot cake for us when we arrived? Jeesh. By Saturday Dave says-I’ve got to get off the carrot cake. (There’s support groups and a meeting at 2). (Cathy also got me a mini chocolate Daube’s cake-All of which I couldn’t bring back on the plane, dang it. This is why I was wearing my fat pants last week and didn’t even realize they were my fat pants until the end of the day, sigh)

I flew home Sunday after a whirlwind type of trip-but saw all my buds. I didn’t, however, take any cow or chicken pictures. What’s wrong with me? I did get to watch Laura chase a cow back into the pen. But no pictures.

And no, I won’t ask Laura to take any either. (Although the mama and calf would be cute….no?) Because that would generate an eyeroll the likes we have never seen before. And I just can’t be liable for what havoc that eyeroll might unleash.